Sunday afternoon by the lake
Posted: September 12, 2010 Filed under: Hanoi, Pics | Tags: Hanoi, hoan kiem 1 Comment »
Blessed
Posted: January 3, 2010 Filed under: Hanoi, Pics | Tags: flower festival, flowers, Hanoi, hoan kiem, pictures 3 Comments »
I’m back in Hanoi and while fighting off a cold it was a joy to get out today.
In the very centre of town there is currently something akin to a flower festival. The whole of Dinh Tien Hoang, which runs alongside Hoan Kiem lake, has become a quite spectacular garden. It all feels very reclaim the streets.
It’s hard to shake off recent events detailed in the last post but, if it’s not too crass a statement I’ve never felt luckier to be alive and I’ve never been as determined to make the most of each day.
Today, what started as typical grey January morning had me peeling off layers by lunchtime when the sun eventually came out. Hanoi, once more, reached that level of sheer gorgeousness that leaves me utterly humbled.
There are enough people out there who just don’t get Hanoi for me to realise that its beauty isn’t what you might call either classic or even traditional, but on a day like this I can’t help but see it everywhere and in everything.
Oh and the Hoan Kiem turtle even made an appearance. (See here for the first time I saw it).
There are Hanoians who have spent their whole lives here and never seen this gargantuan, centuries old beast. I feel truly blessed and it’s hard not to believe what locals tell you – that seeing it is a sign of good luck. Right now I feel like I have more of the stuff than anybody every deserved.
More flower pics below. The rest of today’s shots here.
hey there singapore canon dude
Posted: November 2, 2006 Filed under: Hanoi | Tags: canon, Hanoi, hoan kiem 8 Comments »Somebody from Canon in Singapore is checking out this blog a lot.
They started by repeatedly Googling hanoi, apec, canon and now they’ve bookmarked me.
No doubt they are particularly interested in this post. It concerns the rather ugly Canon billboards that are wrecking the beauty of Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem lake. More pics here.
Anyway, seeing as Canon Dude is checking back a lot. And seeing that all the commenters and people I have spoken to in general, think that the signs are really ugly, it’s good that they are taking note.
So if you want to send them a message then either add a comment here. Or blog about it yourself and their regular Googling will mean that soon enough they will find your blog too.
In the meantime, Canon Dude, just what were you thinking? And when are they coming down? They are coming down, aren’t they? Go on, live up to your slogan.
Thanks for popping by Canon Dude.
Update: Since posting this a message has appeared on the post below, claiming to be from a Vietnamese national in Hanoi and saying how much they like the signs. I checked out their IP number. They may be Vietnamese but they are not in Hanoi. They’re in Singapore. And they work for Canon. You guessed it. Oh Canon Dude. How could you? Shame on you.
oh no, what did they just do?
Posted: October 25, 2006 Filed under: Hanoi, Pics | Tags: canon, Hanoi, hoan kiem 12 Comments »
This is just awful.
Some genius somewhere has decided that as part of the preparations for the upcoming APEC fun and games, Hanoi should completely surround it’s beautiful Hoan Kiem lake with huge great ugly signs.
Yes, genuinely you can’t see the beautiful lake in some places for nasty lit up signs with pictures actually advertising the lake. Pictured above is a guy doing tai chi in front of a sign showcasing people doing..err…tai chi. Elsewhere the view of the pagoda is blocked by shots of high rises and industrial estates. It is ugly. Other signs include ludicrous shots of girls in national dress riding bicycles in Hanoi – who are they kidding? They are every 20 yards around the lake. There are dozens of them.
A colleague told me he nearly cried when he saw them. Marianne is not impressed.
I have heard no one with anything but harsh words for them. Head of the list for a major arse kicking and public humiliation has to be Canon who have sponsored the signs. Their logo and, surely ironic, slogan appearing on each of them.
Hoan Kiem is Hanoi’s saving grace. It is the untouchable. The Old Quarter is just beautiful but only because its crazy compact nature is offset by the space offered by the adjacent lake. However noisy Hanoi gets the lake seems to offer serenity. On the hottest, sweatiest days, Hoan Kiem might just be your best bet for a bit of a breeze.
It’s a place of legends and history. It is stunning. Even as I start to think about moving on from Vietnam it is the one place here that I am still in awe of. On occasions, when I am stressed, I walk around it. All human life is there couples, old dears in conical hats, smiling teenagers having fun, groups of ladies doing aerobics. It is incredible. It makes me smile on the worst days.
And now it is ringed by this eyesore. Canon what are you thinking of?
They all seem of a very sound and solid structure. But please I hope they are just temporary. Once APEC is over I hope they are going. Surely no one would be stupid enough to leave these permanent monstrosities here.
Would they?
* All the pictures here.
The Nam Nessie
Posted: September 17, 2004 Filed under: Hanoi | Tags: Hanoi, hoan kiem, turtle 2 Comments »
Okay so it’s not exactly the Loch Ness monster. But for a bloke out on a stroll with his newly bought digital camera it’s not a bad effort.
But what is it?
Well let me explain. Or rather here is what the Lonely Planet has to say.
The Tortoises of Hoan Kiem Lake: Fact or Fiction
Those ripples on the lake surface will never seem so innocent again.
Astonisngly there are tortoises in the somewhat less than clear waters of Hoan Kiem Lake. Surfacing on rare occasions and bringing luck to anyone fortunate to see one, the Sword Lake Tortoise (Rafetus Leoli) is not just your common garden variety tortoise – it is a huge animal.
A speciman that died in 1968 weighed in at 250kg and was 2.10m long! It’s preserved remains are on show in the Ngoc Son Temple Complex, together with a photo taken of a tortoise that appeared in the lake in 2000.
No one is sure how many there still are, or how they have survived in this urban setting.
Rumours abound. Are these really the lake-dwelling tortoise descendants of the golden tortoise of Le Loi? Or are they safegaurded in enclosed enclosures elsewhere and transported to the lake from time to time, where their occasional appearance is simply an orchestrated ploy to keep the legend of the lake alive?
So there you have it chapter and verse. To fill in a few gaps – Emperor Le Loi was given (by heaven apparently) a magical sword which he used to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. Later, after the war, when boating, a giant golden tortoise grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of the lake.
Anyway, today I viewed the tortoise. I was just wandering by the lake taking pictures with my new camera and all of a sudden I noticed a bit of a commotion. I went over and watched a few bubbles rise. I had heard the legend but as far as I was aware the tortoises in the lake are all but myth. But seconds later one popped its head up and there it was. Cheers abounded.
Soon I was being taken by the arm by an old gent and a younger kid who were determined I would get my tortoise picture. For the next half hour I took countless pictures of bubbles, but not much more.
Eventually, after much persistance I got the pic you see above. And yes I feel very lucky indeed.
